“Broke into a fight again, huh?” Changjo was welcomed by Hongbin sneering at him as he stepped into the coffee shop that morning. The sarcastic guy was already busy cleaning up the cups at the front counter. Some other workers were already at the place, cleaning the other side of the shop.

Changjo rolled his eyes. “Your question is unnecessary, Hyung,” replied him as he took off his jacket before wearing the apron he had taken from the drawer. “What should I do now?” he stood beside Hongbin whom still hadn’t moved from his previous place.

The older glanced at him just to get a clearer view of how bad his bruises and cuts were. “Are you really going to serve people black and blue like that?” Hongbin shook his head. “You should really stop breaking into fights, Jonghyun-ah.”

“Not going to work means no money, Lee Hongbin-ssi. At least there must be something I could do here.” He then spotted some cups which hadn’t yet been cleaned by Hongbin and started to help him finishing it. “Like this, for example. You would take longer if I wasn’t here, right?” he continued. “And for your info, it’s not me who started the fight. I was attacked.” Their co-workers were coming one by one. Changjo slightly bowed at every one of them since he was the new kid around while doing his current work with Hongbin.

“Woah, really? Attacked by whom?” Hongbin got excited all of a sudden as he put the cloth he’d been holding and leaned onto the counter instead. “Tell me,” he half ordered.

Changjo looked at him in disgust. “Really, Hyung. I thought you’re no longer a gossip,” he got his revenge by quipping back at him. “I’m not telling you anything,” he stuck his tongue out playfully when Hongbin was staring at him in disbelief. “The shop is gonna be opened in minutes. What should I do today?” he glanced at his watch before looking around to see the other workers were nearly finished cleaning up the room.

“Have respect, Choi Jonghyun.” He smacked the back of his head using the cloth he used earlier. “Just work at the back and clean the tables up. I’m replacing you at the counter today. See? I actually am kind,” he wrapped his words up by bragging.

“Thank you, Hyung. You’re really my savior this week. I really mean it,” told Changjo as he tapped the older’s back two times. “Oh, by the way, if anyone search for me here, please tell him I’m not here. You may choose whatever reasons you like. I’ll tell you about it later. I count on you, Hyung.”

***

The empty seats of the deserted subway seemed too heavenly for him that he plumped himself on it right away after he boarded. His shift at the minimarket was cruel since they had a stock opname that day. He spent the entire time cursing, so did Taehyung. The only thing in his mind was actually his bed back home, but his grumbling stomach wouldn’t shut up if he didn’t feed the devil. Moreover, he wasn’t sure whether his mom prepared a meal for him or not after the incident earlier that morning.

No matter how tired he was and how bad he tried not to give a damn about his surroundings, he couldn’t stand not to glance around. A young guy who seemed to be around his age was sitting at the other end of the seats across him, head down with a fixed gaze on the thick textbook he’s holding. One thing Changjo was sure about, he would have fallen asleep on it if it was him. The guy was wearing a neat light blue shirt which was quite surprising since it’s already late and he’s definitely not on his way for a lecture. Its sleeves were rolled way up to his elbows. Another piece of clothes which seemed to be a knitted sweater was placed above the backpack he put beside him, enough to complete his looks as a nerd.

Dreaming high , doesn’t it? Changjo snorted as he mocked the guy in his mind.

It was about three stops later when the nerd put on his sweater in one swift motion before getting back on reading his book again. The things he did were caught by Changjo, only using the corner of his eyes. He had no idea why, but the nerd had completely stolen his attention.

Changjo was getting ready to get off at the next stop and turned out the nerd was getting up as well, only to get a grasp of the hanging handle while his other hand still holding the book he’d been reading. Again, Changjo couldn’t help to stare at him, quite leisurely, since somehow he’s sure enough that the guy wouldn’t even realize it. Changjo decided to shrug it off and walked through the empty station, routing right away to the small restaurant placed outside where he usually went to. He took a seat in the middle of the room after ordering the cheapest meal on the menu.

There were only him, a couple, and a small group of men in the restaurant. He pull the sleeve of his hoodie up a bit to check on his watch, eleven quarter. He fold his arms on the table and decided to sleep on them while waiting for his meal to be served, paying back the sleep time he had wasted to watch the nerd guy on the train. The sound of the sizzling hot pot woke him up about 15 minutes later as it was being put in front of him, before the shop aunty tapped him lightly on the back to give an official notice that his meal had been served.

He thought he was hallucinating when he saw the nerd was sitting in the table at the corner, eating a meal which looked a bit more expensive than his while reading a different textbook although its thickness wasn’t much different. His right hand was holding the chopsticks; his left one was holding his rice bowl, once in a while flipping over the pages. Changjo took a moment staring at him in disbelief, not sure whether he’s amazed or actually in disgust. Ambitious was the only word which popped in his mind when it came to the nerd he’d been seeing. He told himself to let him be and go shut the devil inside his stomach instead than thinking about a person he barely knew.

Or, a robot with a human body as a camouflage.

Changjo was about to finish eating the soup when it suddenly rained above him, inside a room. Stream of water ran through his hair, before it turned sticky to his face later as it continued streaming down.

“Dessert time,” a familiar low and soft voice spoke from behind his back, which no other than the culprit who just poured Coke on Changjo as he realized the remaining soup he had slowly turned brown because of the dripping water from the tip of his bangs.

There were only the couple and the nerd guy remaining in the restaurant. The scene definitely stole their attention as the couple started whispering to each other while the nerd finally broke his stare on the textbook. Changjo balled up his fists, gathering all the anger boiling inside him to get his revenge. He got up and turned around to see Leo already standing by the exit door, shooting him a mocking smirk as he waved him bye and stepped out of the place. He got back onto his seat and punched the old table to release his anger, or just to cause another scene. He caught the other three consumers were still staring at him as he was a rare animal they just found. Their stares soon turned down after Changjo pierced them back using his angry gaze. He put some money on the table and left the place.

Sanghyuk blinked his eyes repeatedly, amused at the strange event occurring in front of him. He didn't have a tv inside his room, neither he ever watched a drama. But having a drama scene right before your eyes, of course was a unique yet fascinating experience. And deep down inside he wanted to see more. He didn't see how it happened exactly because he was too immersed in his reads, but the moment he heard a slamming sound from the nearest table, Sanghyuk suddenly changed into a spectator mode and watching the couple of men doing something that would have happened in a typical family drama.

He gave their acting maybe 8 out of 10. Because the slightly taller man who just poured the liquid onto the other guy didn’t have a good intonation. His tone was flat and plus voice was a little bit to low and soft for Sanghyuk, but his attempt on intimidating the guy in a public place deserved a good score. Move on to the other actor, Sanghyuk thought that he wasn’t that bad either. Even though he was clearly angry and maybe embarrassed because of what happened to him, but he did great at controlling his temper. Overall, that was a good entertainment in between his boring studying session.

That restaurant was his third home after his own room and library. And having a different atmosphere from the usual boring day was really nice. But he didn't have any time left, the test was near and he had to swallow so many things including the books around him. Stretching his long arms to soothe his back ache because he rarely got a beauty sleep lately although that wasn’t a huge problem for him, he’s a robot anyway.

He wasn't that much of a slow eater, on the contrary he’s that type of person who has a mindset that every second counts. But lately, he had spent almost an hour for a single meal when clearly a meal is eaten best when it’s still warm. It all started since the day that he finished the meal in the same place way too early and he ended up glued in the same place for almost a day with his textbooks, so the shop aunty was really annoyed at him to the point that Sanghyuk realized that the whole restaurant crews were whispering about him. Didn’t want to be nuisance to the public, he quickly packed up his belongings and left. On a normal occasion he might be irritated by the disrespectful restaurant staffs because he had paid for the food which clearly means that he could do anything. But instead the whole restaurant were side-eyeing him just because he spent literally a day in the same place. He didn’t do that on purpose, and sure it wasn't his fault that he had to read so many reading materials at that time, which led him to an almost overnight stay at a restaurant.

Sanghyuk held a grudge at first to that restaurant, but soon the first meal at that restaurant was too good and the price was good too. Having no other option, he decided to go back to get another hot and sizzling meal which soon becoming a habit. Months had passed and suddenly he’s becoming a regular customer. Even the shop aunty was then fond of him, the boy who always have a meal alone every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. The owner once asked him why he was always eating alone, but Sanghyuk just threw a forced smile and said, “I’m not alone, I have these pals.” clearly directing at his textbooks.

Multi-tasking wasn't a smart choice if you are not good at it. But Sanghyuk was different, he had found a perfect method to read a good amount of pages while finishing his meal. Clearly, he was really proud of himself for it. And that was clearly the reason why the shop aunty then treated him as one of her loyal customer. People around him had been saying that there was nothing that Sanghyuk couldn’t do. The first time Sanghyuk had heard that kind of compliment, he was feeling really thankful for it. But as the time passed, he realized that those words were more like an insult to him. Because nobody’s perfect, except if he’s not human.

“Sanghyuk-ah! There you are!” a sing-song voice blasted all over the restaurant, luckily there wasn’t many people around. And the owner seemed to get used to that voice as well. It wasn’t a strange thing if there would be someone suddenly popping up from the front door screaming his name. It’s none other than one of his close friend, Park Jimin.

Sanghyuk had predicted his visit since he didn’t reply Jimin’s text, not wanting to get distracted enough. And Jimin took that as a sign to talk to him in person instead. When Sanghyuk realized Jimin’s existence, the taller man didn’t even bother to tidy his already messy and full table to give a more comfortable space for the guest. With a few steps, Jimin sat on the other seat across Sanghyuk with a grin plastered on his face.

“Do you need something? As you can see I’m too busy to open my phone so.. And oh, please let me finish my meal first.” He really hates speaking whilst eating as his mom always forbids doing so.

“Aw, why the sour face. This is the after effect on swallowing every alphabet, words, sentences, graphs, every freaking thing inside that book! You’re no better than a bookworm, literally.” Jimin ended his long sentence hands rested on his cheeks. As per usual Sanghyuk wasn’t able to understand his friend’s type of humor.

“Ha,” was only his response. Sanghyuk couldn’t believe that he just wasted a clear 10 minutes just to deal with his friend who visited him to tell him that nonsense.

“Hyukkie, listen to me.” Jimin gave Sanghyuk his biggest pout along with the whiny tone to match. He couldn’t believe that he had to do that every time his best friend was working his off for every exam. It took Jimin a good 2 minutes to get a reply, right after Sanghyuk finished his last spoonful of rice.

“Okay Jiminnie, what’s the deal that makes you here, willing to wait for me to finish my meal?” he switched himself into his social mode. It might sound weird, but he had several of modes planted in his mind. He kept it to himself though, or else people would think that he’s weird.

Jimin knew when his best friend already closed his book and pay full attention to him, he changed into a completely different person, the friendly person he befriended to. Shoving the books aside to make his own personal space, Jimin tried to arrange his words.

“This test you’ve been studying for only God Knows how long  is cancelled! Now let’s go party or something and leave this place!” Sanghyuk was quite aback when Jimin slammed the table but he couldn’t blame Jimin for being excited.

“Really? Wow! Why you didn’t tell me earlier, you punk!” Sanghyuk moved closer to ruffles his friend’s thick brunette hair, smiles decorating both of their faces. Without any further instructions he quickly picked up his books and put it neatly inside his bag, ready to get out anytime soon.

“Thank you for the meal!” He half-shouted as he put the empty food tray back to its place. With a full stomach and a happy heart with no burden, Sanghyuk reached for Jimin’s shoulder and rested his right hand on it.

“Let’s go have some fun!” they said in unison. Their friendship might look weird to some strangers, and Sanghyuk wasn’t that type to let people easily enters his life. Jimin, a mediocre student who was nice to everyone although he had a weird sense of humor matched quite well with Sanghyuk, a top student, an introvert with snarky tongue. Maybe it’s true that opposites do attract.

Seoul fresh air wasn’t in the best condition during the busy traffic during the rush hour, but it's clearly better than a damp air that filled the restaurant. Both of them ended up just standing on the side of the road.

“So, have any idea which place should we crash?” His backpack was heavy but the fact that he didn’t need to study for that exam makes him to ignore the weight. Jimin rubbed his chin and looked around to find something interesting. Sanghyuk took that as he didn’t even plan anything this time.

“Okay you got me. I have nothing in mind. But let’s just go for a walk rather than standing here, shall we? And oh I heard there’s a good and cheap-but-okay club two blocks from here, we could just go by foot.”  Jimin’s suggestion was quickly approved by the friend. Sanghyuk wasn’t that much of a fan of loud places, especially club. But he needed an escapade, even though he knew that he would end up just sitting at the bar stool, buying the cheapest liquor he could  afford until Jimin got bored and decided to leave the place together.

Sanghyuk didn’t know what was on his mind half an hour ago thinking that Jimin’s plan was a good idea. He was trapped in a club on a school night, with a heavy backpack on his bag looking like a complete nerd (he had a hard time accepting himself as a nerd), and Jimin was nowhere to be found. Loud music blasting from all over the place. The room smells like sweat and alcohol mixed altogether making his head even dizzier than when he was studying hours before.

The cheap alcohol wasn’t helping at all. He seemed to forget that he was just eating a full meal less than an hour ago. He might be a genius, but maybe it’s only in academic purposes. After he finished his one and only drink, he looked around to find his friend but, no result. Rather than engaging a conversation with the bartender then that he was finished with his drink, he got up from the stool and walking towards the nearest door with a ‘No Entry’ sign that he’d been eyeing since he reached the club. His playful self was telling him to explore what’s behind the door and no one couldn’t stop him.

As he twisted the doorknob, he was surprised that it wasn’t locked. Truth to be told, he was kind of disappointed to know that the door was just a typical alternative exit door. But that’s what he wanted all of this time, an exit door to get out from the club, at least for a while to get a good amount of fresh air.

He stepped onto the wet asphalt, carefully dodging the puddles. His eyes scanned the alley although it may be useless because it’s dark already and his eyesight clearly wasn’t the best. But, he accepted anything to escape from a badly polluted air and noisy random noise.

The left end of the alley was a road, Sanghyuk guess it was that main road while the other end is a dead end. A typical creepy alley that you would find in every horror movies where you could easily meet a ghost or a serial killer.

Sanghyuk was always a brave man. He wasn’t afraid of a ghost, but meeting a killer would clearly be the end of him.

“You can’t run anymore. It’s all useless. Just give up already, there’s nothing left in you, you useless brat!” a strange voice echoed in the alley. Sanghyuk heart skipped a beat the moment he heard voice. It might be a ghost, but the sound was way too clearly to be made by a mystical creature, but he swore that he was alone in the alley. He glanced around to find any place that might be the source of the voice, but nothing was much less likely to be one, even the approximately five level building which seemed like a dark old flat with its flaked off mildewed wall located in front of him.

Maybe it was the effect of alcohol. Sanghyuk wasn’t in the full control of his body because somehow, he chose to walk closer to the end of the alley. The closer he got, he could picture a shadow, no, not only a shadow but shadows, there were few shadows.

Curiosity killed the cat, but Sanghyuk believe that it wouldn’t ever kill him. At least not until that he exchanged eye contact with a guy, the familiar guy in the restaurant before. The one that poured the soup earlier to the other person which created a TV-Like drama.  Sanghyuk was doomed. But he wasn’t the only one that’s doomed because the person who just got poured on was also with them with a bruise on his face and Sanghyuk recalled that he hadn’t seen the bruise before.

“Well hi guys.. We met before at the restaurant, perhaps? Okay this may look weird but, I come in peace”  Sanghyuk stated, both hands in the air.